Scorpion venom could be the key to reducing heart bypass failures, according to research.

A study by Leeds University has found that a toxin in the venom of the Central American bark scorpion is at least 100 times more potent at preventing the most common cause of bypass graft failure than any other known compound.

Professor David Beech, from the university's Faculty of Biological Sciences, said the toxin could be taken forward as a spray-on treatment to the vein itself once it had been removed and was waiting to be grafted on to the heart.